I think the main issue (and a serious one) is that this is done without asking the user and without the possibility to switch it off without extra work. Drupal's phone home feature has always been "opt in".
Apparently, update.module in D6 is not opt-in. Bad decision.
Yes, I think that's a problem. I'd much rather it be opt-in or during installation (for new users only, of course). Alternatively, I would also support a admin/ page message that /always/ said "update checker is not enabled; please check drupal.org for the latest security updates", and have that message only be disabled through a settings.php var tweak. There is no underscoring how important the update checker is, but there's also no underscoring of how important people's illusion of privacy and choice is. -- Morbus Iff ( i put the demon back in codemonkey ) Technical: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/au/779 Enjoy my: http://www.disobey.com/ and http://www.60bwc.com/ aim: akaMorbus / skype: morbusiff / icq: 2927491 / jabber.org: morbus